Biomass Power Generation : Recent Trends in Technology and Future Possibilities
Narasimhan SanthanamEnergy Alternatives India,
www.eai.in
About EAI
Leading Indian renewable energy business intelligence, market strategy consulting firm
Work on all primary renewable energy sectors – solar, wind, bio-fuels / biomass, waste-to-energy and small hydro
Work on market research, entry and diversification strategy, economic and financial modeling and pre-feasibility analysis
Team comprises professionals from IITs and IIMs, with renewable energy, industry research and economics backgrounds
Based out of Chennai, India More at www.eai.in
What Am I Here For?• Imperatives for Power Generation Industry• Prospective Solutions• Role of Biomass in these Solutions• Processes and Technologies in Biomass-based
Power Generation– Current Trends– Future Prospects
Tech -> Solutions -> Imperatives
Process & Technolog
ies
Imperatives
Imperatives
• Environmentally sustainable electricity production
• Electricity for rural and remote areas
• Socially beneficial electricity production
• More reliable electricity production from renewable sources
Prospective Solutions• Distributed electricity generation
• Electricity generation with less GHG emissions
• Combining synergistic revenue streams for economically sustainable power production
• Combining different renewable energy sources for power generation to ensure stability and reliability
Role of Biomass in the Solutions
• Wide range of biomass feedstock• Waste biomass and energy crops available in a
distributed manner• Biomass as a feedstock instead of fossil fuels at
power plants• Possibility of useful products such as
biofertilizers and biofuels along with electricity• Flexibility to integrate biomass with other
renewable sources such as solar and wind.
Biomass-based Power Gen Processes and Technologies
• Gasification and pyrolysis
• Use of biomass as partial feedstock in power plants for co-firing
• Anaerobic digestion
Tech, Processes & Solutions
Gasification and pyrolysis
Use of biomass as partial feedstock in power plants for co-
firing
Anaerobic digestion
Distributed electricity generation
Electricity generation with less GHG emissions
Combining synergistic revenue streams for economically sustainable power production
Combining different renewable energy sources for power generation to ensure stability and reliability
Gasification and Pyrolysis• Scalable
• Biomass agnostic
• Distributed electricity generation
• Production of valuable co-products such as biochar
• An established technology with potential for innovations
Gasification/Pyrolysis – Current Trends
Current• Types of gasifiers - Updraft; downdraft; Fluidized
bed; Entrained flow. Also: One stage and two stage gasifiers
• High temperature treatment for easy removal of ash contaning heavy metals.
• Electric power generated in engines and gas turbines, which are cheaper and more efficient than the steam cycle used in incineration
Future
• Plasma gasification• Use of fuel cells for electricity generation• Significant advancements possible for:– Flexibility in biomass range– Slagging problem for biomass with low
melting point– Reducing tar contamination in gas flow
Gasification/Pyrolysis –Future Trends
Use of Biomass for Co-firing in Power Plants
• Less net GHG emissions compared to 100% coal power plants
• Over 200 power plants worldwide using it
• Could be a critical route used by power plants in the short and medium term as an important GHG reduction strategy
Biomass Cofiring – Current TrendsCurrent• Max 20% biomass used
• Process and material improvements for increased efficiency and decrease costs
• Many technical bottlenecks in biomass co-firing are ash related; dedicated toolboxes are being developed to tackle these
Biomass Cofiring – Future TrendsFuture• Increase of cofiring %s to 50% w/w• Lower-quality (“salty”) biomass, higher fuel
flexibility (per unit or by combining different units)• Integration with clean coal tech– Boilers with ultra-supercritical steam tech– Oxy-fuel combustion– IGCC
• Torrefaction - thermal treatment of raw biomass materials in temperature range 200-300 C under inert atmosphere with aim of partial decomposition. A charcoal-like fuel is the result.
Anaerobic Digestion
• Can use waste biomass that present disposal problems
• Can be a distributed avenue for power generation
• Suitable for industrial and domestic waste biomass
AD – Current and Future Trends
Current• Modifications in reactor designs and processes for
higher efficiency of digestion• Newer and more efficient gas engines
Future• Using the AD effluent to grow biofuel feedstock
such as algae
Other Trends and Innovations
• Use of renewable energy such as solar thermal to produce syngas
• New technologies and processes for biomass harvesting, processing and handling.
• Dedicated energy crops for power production
• Innovations in biomass logistics and transportation.
Biomass Power – Now and FutureParameter Now (2010) Future (2020)
Distributed electricity generation
Biomass has a minor contribution
Biomass will be a major contributor
Use in cofiring in power plants Fewer than 1% of power plants use biomass
A much larger % of utility power will be from biomass
Use of feedstock Primarily waste biomass and assorted
Dedicated energy crops
Related revenue streams Some additional revenue streams already present
A more established end user market for co-products
Standalone renewable electricity source?
Primarily standalone mode Will be used in conjunction with other renewable electricity sources
Inference
• Biomass has the potential to be a more significant contributor to the world’s “green” electricity
• For this to happen, significant advances in technology and processes are required
• The pace at which advances are taking place are less than satisfactory; higher governmental and industry support for R&D and incentives required